Magnetism
by DoggoWoof
Summary: An attraction that the vulpine just can't get over, no matter how hard he tries to push it away. The emotional Fox contemplates his decisions, and finally takes the initiative. Wolf/Fox.


**Authors note:**

And here's my second one-shot. I originally planned on writing a Christmas/New year fic, potentially a continuation of my other, but settled on this instead.

* * *

Sitting idly in space, Fox didn't know what to do any more. He'd done it. The Aparoid queen was finally destroyed and consequently their invasion on the system had ended. This was his greatest achievement, it should have been the happiest time of his life. But no, that's not how life chose to play out for the poor vulpine.

As of late, his thoughts were on another matter at hand. One which, after many years, had yet to be resolved, and due to recent events, had been _much_ more frequent and the feelings behind it amplified.

Wolf O'Donnell.

Fox placed his hand against the cool glass of his cockpit, sighing wistfully upon gazing at the stars. There was once a time where Fox had felt free, soaring through space. The sensation that nobody could control him in his ship was unrivalled. Now it seemed as if the stars and planets were conspiring against him, trapping him in this endless void. It made him feel alone.

That damn lupine had managed to find his way into his thoughts once again. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there for the vulpine. He never expected to get _emotionally_ attached too. This was a whole new problem, one that for the life of him Fox couldn't fathom how to solve. His attraction to the lupine was getting out of hand, and he didn't know how much longer he could go without slipping up.

At first, it wasn't all that strong. The charming lupine, few years older than him at the flight academy. The proclaimed _Best Pilot_ in the school, attaining scores blowing out many of the people who once held that title prior. He was like a role model to the vulpine, in a sense. It didn't help that Fox found him good looking, a secret he doesn't intend on revealing to the public, or _anyone_ for that matter. The fact that he found himself attracted to males wasn't one people needed to know.

He'd always followed in his fathers footsteps. The ace of Star Fox. So reaching for the best scores, the best he could be, was his plan. The fact that Wolf had managed to do that for himself sparked some admiration for the lupine. He wanted to be like him. Especially when his father died, his grief spurred him on even more to make his father proud, to be the next James McCloud, to surpass him, to surpass Wolf...

Those thoughts turned sour once the war hit. For some reason, Fox never linked the infamous Star Wolf team and Wolf O'Donnell. The team that was involved in his fathers death. Not that he knew the full story, nor did he did care. All he believed was that Wolf was a part of taking his father away from him. He felt disgusted in himself, angry, that he once felt something for the lupine. Even more so that he still felt some physical attraction to him. He turned this rage into something useful, used it _against_ the enemy, transformed it into skill. And in the end he got what he wished for, he surpassed Wolf.

After their second battle, Fox personally decided to fly down and finish the job himself. He'd survived the first battle, much to the surprise of the vulpine, so he didn't doubt that he could survive this too. All of this could have been prevented if he'd have just pulled the trigger then. But he couldn't. Shooting people down was something, but looking at someone so helpless to defend himself, to be the one to shoot them. To _see_ the look on their face as they died, he wouldn't be able to stomach it.

And as it turned out, it was for the best. If he _had_ killed the lupine, he would most likely be dead by now.

So, how did it turn out like this?

"Fox?" A voice blared out of his speaker. "You docking or what?" Krystal. The rest of the team had docked on a Cornerian carrier, since The Great Fox was out of commission. Fox had hoped he could have searched for Star Wolf, to make sure they were okay. Without their help they would've never succeeded. He wished that Wolf was safe. He never wanted that help to be a sacrifice...

But he couldn't say that out loud. "Sure, give me a moment." He smoothly manoeuvred his arwing into the hangar of the larger ship. _'Time to go, Fox.'_ He slapped himself in the face twice, prepping himself with a big smile, and not a moment later emerged from his cockpit. The rest of the team stood in wait for their captain before entering the ship. They wanted to do it as a team. They had no idea of the inner turmoil Fox was facing. All, but one. Krystal.

His "Initial" love interest.

It came at no surprise to the vulpine that he held no attraction to her, and the feeling was mutual. That never stopped the rest of them though. Falco and his constant nudges and _less_ than appropriate commentary on the vixen. Slippy, with his "tactful" attempts to try ask for both of their help together, because " _three_ heads are better than _two_ ". And Peppy, who just wanted to see Fox happy with someone else.

He'd never expected her telepathy to out his secret to her in the first instance of meeting her on the ship. Luckily, she never spoke up on it, most likely because she _knew_ it was a secret. Their "private talk" they had after, mostly at the behest of Falco, had been something else. He'd asked her to try refrain as much as possible on reading peoples minds, as it's kind of an invasion of privacy. As she came from another planet where telepathy was so common, she'd never imagined that, but she obliged. She tried to avoid it.

But at times, like now, she couldn't stop it. His feelings were too strong to be avoided. She placed a comforting hand on his back as they made their way through the ships interior. He inwardly groaned, already knowing that _she_ knew about Wolf. But at least the touch was nice.

"Want to talk?" She asked in a low voice, so the rest of them couldn't hear.

"Not really, but I guess so..." He liked that he had someone he could confide in, without the stipulation of love. It was more akin to the care of a family member, like a mother. How he missed her...

* * *

A month later, and not much happened for the vulpine. They had made it back to Corneria shortly after the attack on the Aparoid home world, where a huge celebration took place. Well, 'huge'. In reality, many were still recovering from the attack, with grief over fallen family members. All of the individuals infected by the Aparoids returned to normal, but there were still those caught in the destruction of Corneria city.

His return was lacklustre in comparison to when the war was over, not that he was complaining. Fox just wanted to be alone at the moment. At least, that's what he _thought_ he wanted. Living alone had taken a toll on the vulpine. It was almost as if he forgot how to live on his own in his time fighting.

It also didn't help that the thoughts of Wolf plaguing his mind refused to go away. In fact, it had strengthened _even more_. He often thinks his near death experience, surrounded by the Aparoids with no way of escape, when out of nowhere he had been saved. The tingling in his heart which soon follows. Wolf even _complimented_ him.

Then there was the advice given to him. That seemingly off hand phrase had become one of the most important in such a little time. "Don't hesitate! When the time comes, just act!" His words stuck strong, and without them the Aparoid queen may have got through to him.

Fox let out an exasperated sigh, sitting up from his bed. He raised his legs to his chest, a pillow between, and wrapped his arms around them. Looking out his window to the bright city beyond, he let his thoughts wander once more. He'd regretted not doing anything after destroying the queen. He wished he could go back and redo, to look for Wolf, to try resolve whatever they had.

If he'd pushed him away, threatening him, saying that he never cared, Fox could live with that. It would probably stop him. "If anyone's gonna tan my hide, it's gonna be you, huh? Sounds about right..." He couldn't _not_ think of the innuendo derived from this comment, and his teams reaction said they couldn't either. Maybe..?

No that's stupid.

Is it?

Krystal had advised him to try sort things out with Wolf. With not being in the Lylat war, she didn't hold the same contempt towards Star Wolf, or especially Wolf, as the rest of the team. She didn't like seeing him like this. It made things all the worse when she _also_ thought he should've searched for him. Maybe he still could? He recalled that her and Panther were a thing now, maybe he could ask for help? Panther was guaranteed to know how to get a hold of Wolf.

But how would he react when he saw him? Would he be angry, after the years of their rivalry? Would he open the door, one ear perked up while the other lay low, giving him a questioning look? Would he have a lopsided grin, not expecting the vulpine to come running to find him? Would he be happy to see him, and wanting to see Fox too?

Well... The last one was less so a possibility and more a slight hope from Fox.

Grabbing his communicator, he proceeded to dial Krystals number, deciding that any of those possibilities were better than sitting around and doing nothing. After a few seconds, the phone picked up and her voice could be heard. The hologram showed a spiritly visage of her face, and she could see him too. "Fox? You okay?" Her voice radiated concern.

"Yeah, I was just wondering something. Does Panther still talk with Wolf?"

She replied with a nod. "Why, you finally planning on talking to him?" She knew the implications too. Fox could end up hurt even more than he was now, and she would never want that.

"It's probably about time, I've delayed it long enough."

"Are you sure this is what you want? What if things don't go the way you expected?"

"I'm already aware that is a very likely possibility, but I can't just do _nothing._ Please, Krystal." The desperation in his voice was evident to the other, and she looked contemplative for a moment.

"Okay, I'll talk to Panther. I'll be back in a moment." Her face disappeared, the image which once cast a blue hue on Fox's bedroom walls dissipated into a lowly glow. It took a few agonizing minutes for the vulpine until she returned.

"Well?" He looked expectantly at her.

"He wants to meet you in person. Care to meet up for some coffee? Just to chat, yknow? We haven't seen each other in a while either." This was going to be more troublesome than Fox originally imagined.

"Sure, I guess. Where we meeting?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll sort it out and message you later, 'kay? It'll probably be around 12 so make sure you're ready for then." That gave him 5 hours to get ready.

"Sounds good. See you later."

"Bye Fox."

"Oh and Krystal?" He added quickly before she left.

"Hm?"

"Thanks." He smiled at her, and so did she in response.

"No problem."

* * *

A cool spring breeze blew gently, causing Fox to tug on his scarf gently to conserve heat. He chose a casual look; settling on blue jeans, a white polo, a grey jacket, and his signature red scarf. He looked at his watch. **11:57**. 3 minutes before their scheduled time. Not that he was early, but the other two were yet to appear. He'd been sat at an outdoor table to Flora's for a few minutes now, the café Krystal had decided upon. Finding it hadn't been too hard, being that it was fairly popular. Taking a sip from his coffee, he sat back in his chair awaiting the other two.

He finally saw the other two approaching him, prompting him to check his watch once more. **12:00**. Normally when most people say to meet for a time, they don't mean _exactly_ at the time. They were extremely punctual. Krystal took a seat opposite Fox, and sat down gracefully. She wore an orange dress with floral patterns, a white cardigan over her arms. He was slightly glad that she was also dressed casually, even though it didn't really matter.

"I'll go get our drinks." Panther announced before walking into the café, but not without a small kiss placed onto Krystals cheek.

"So, what you been up to?" Krystal started. It pained Fox to realise that his answer was _nothing_...

"Not much, just been settling down at home, that kind of stuff... You?"

"It's nice to see your taking some well deserved rest. As you know, me and Panther are a thing now. I've also been doing some charity work around the city for repairs after the invasion, going to some galas." Now Fox felt bad that _he_ wasn't doing that. Especially since he was seen as the hero, while his team ended up known as 'the support'.

"Oh, and how are you and Panther doing by the way?"

"Pretty good, all things considered. We're taking things slow at the moment, don't want to rush things. I'm thinking of fully moving in with him soon." Sounds about right. Being an empath, she _would_ want to develop more of an emotionalrelationship. Panther finally took a seat next to Krystal, handing her a drink. She opted for a herbal tea of some sort he mused, and Panther a black coffee. Fox never liked black coffee, too bitter. "Thanks sweetie." She said, placing a gentle peck to Panthers cheek. "But enough about that for now. Panther?"

"Mmmh. Wolf... Why do you want to see him?" He looked critically at Fox, judging his every move.

"I feel like I should. I haven't seen him in a while and..." Panthers look didn't look convinced. "I want to visit him."

"Now? Of all times? What's your angle?" He scrutinized Fox's face, looking for any deceit.

"I don't have an ang-"

"I can hardly believe you would want to visit him without any ulterior motive. Are you planning on killing him? After all we did to help you?" The barrage of questions never relented.

"I would never want to ki-"

"You've never talked to him before, now you're planning on visiting him like you're best friends?" He kept interrupting all of the answers Fox wanted to say, to get his point across. He was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"Panther," Krystal placed her hand upon his gently. "let him speak please."

"Sorry. It's just these two haven't been on good terms before. I don't plan on telling someone where Wolf is if they're going to kill him."

"I know babe. I can promise he doesn't want to hurt him." She gave an assuring squeeze to his hand.

"As she said, I don't want to hurt him. I'm being honest when I say I just want to talk to him. It's been a month since I saw him and I want to see how he's been." Once again, Panther didn't look the slightest bit persuaded. "I know it's my fault that I haven't seen him. I actually wanted to, after the attack on the home world, but my team needed me."

"And you wanted to see him _because?_ I don't see any reason why you would want to talk to him, and I don't believe he would want to talk to you either." ' _Ouch...'_

"I guess... To say thank you would be one thing. If it weren't for you diverting focus away from us to get us access to the queens lair, we couldn't have done it... There's also the fact that he saved my life _specifically_."

"I'm pretty sure he won't care for your thanks. We came to protect Corneria, he never came for you. You were just in the right place at the right time." His cold analysis of the situation somewhat hurt, but Fox knew he was right.

"I know that, but it still feels wrong. He could've left me to die... I feel like I owe him."

"So that's it? You want to see him because you think that you owe something to him?" Fox couldn't blame him for jumping to all the wrong conclusions. He acknowledged that it was a strange request, and he didn't sound all that convincing either.

"I have other things I'd want to talk to him too. I don't want our teams to be on bad terms like they have in the past. Wouldn't that make things awkward for you two?"

"I suppose you do have a point. I couldn't bear shooting down my dear Krystal, nor any of her friends..."

"I wouldn't want to either. And I can't just leave Star Fox if that does happen, this team is like a home to me." Krystal added, smiling towards Fox. "Isn't that enough of an incentive?" She faced towards Panther, a slight look of pleading in her eyes.

Panther started weighing up the pros and cons of telling Fox. If Krystal was telling the truth, Wolf wasn't in any danger. Plus, the teams being on better terms couldn't be a bad thing. Also, from the looks of it Krystal also wants this, and he didn't have the heart to deny her. Sighing in defeat, he took a pen out from his pocket and scribbled some words onto a napkin, handing it over to Fox.

"His address. He's usually not in Friday nights, drinking and all that." Panther added with a chuckle.

"Thanks." Relief washed over his face as he took the napkin with a smile. The trio talked for a while, spending another half an hour together. Eventually they decided on making their leave.

"Once again, thank you Panther. And Krystal. We should do this some other time, I had fun."

"No problem. We had fun too, it was nice meeting you again." Krystal replied with a smile.

"It was nice making your acquaintance, Fox." Panther added, holding his hand out. Fox took it in his own and shook.

"Ok, see you later!" The group split, Fox waving his hand as he departed. Now all he could hope is that things would work out...

* * *

The next day, after steeling his nerves Fox finally decided it was time. He stood in front of the imposing door, a nervous gulp down his throat. As much as he was physically prepared to knock, he was nowhere near mentally. The house was in an isolated part of the city, a quiet neighbourhood. Not many people lived near, as most couldn't afford. The house in front of him was rather small, but he could tell from looking at it that it was _expensive_.

Bringing a shaky hand upwards, he rapped against the door. ' _Now I've done it. It's too late to back out now!'_ Shuffling from inside the building could be heard, until it localised itself at the other side of the door. After hearing the sound of a lock being undone, the door opened slowly.

And there he was. Wolf O'Donnell in the flesh. He was greeted with a blank stare, and for some reason that hurt more than anything else. He was wearing shorts with a black tank top, which accentuated his build. His muscles bulged out slightly, but not too much. It was the almost perfect balance of muscle and size. Another nervous gulp from the vulpine. He couldn't say anything, not that he could even think of anything.

Luckily, he didn't have to, as Wolf was the first one to speak up. "What are you doing here, pup?" He looked less than happy to be in his presence, and it could be heard in his voice.

"I-I wanted to talk... To you..." Fox stuttered out. Now he just felt stupid. He had his plan all set out and ready, but all that dissolved when he saw Wolf.

"It's been a month."

"I... I know." Fox couldn't keep looking at his face, and he looked towards the floor.

"A month. You never wanted to talk to me before. Why now?"

' _It's not like you chose to come see me either.' "_ I-Well I didn't know how to find you. Plus, I didn't think you would _want_ to see me..."

"If you didn't think I would want to see you, _why_ are you here? And don't say that as if you even _tried_ to look for me." The spite in his voice hurt the vulpine even more.

"I wanted to give it time." He offered pathetically.

" _Give it time?!_ What kind of bullshit is that? One whole month of nothing from you. I'd be fine with that, if it weren't for the fact that you _left us to die_ out there." ' _Out there?'_

"Wh-what?"

"After all we did to help. We distracted the Aparoids so you could make it. I saved _your god damn_ life!And you left us! If it weren't for a lucky Cornerian scout ship finding us while searching for any possibility of the Aparoids surviving, we were dead!"

"I wanted to look for you! Honestly I did! But my team needed me, and I thought you'd be fine. You've always survived seemingly impossible crashes, I thought this would be no different..." He finally managed to find his voice, trying to reason with the lupine.

"Like _hell_ you wanted to look for me. You probably ran back happily to tell Pepper what a _great_ job you've done taking them out _and_ me, didn't you?" Of course he wouldn't believe Fox. He didn't have a reason to. "I save your life, and in return you try to leave me for dead." This couldn't be going any worse for the vulpine.

"But you even said you only saved my li-"

"I don't _care_ what you have to say any more." He shouted, interrupting him. The violent outbreak surprised him, flinching back in response. Fox didn't like this, not at all. Hearing such harsh words from anyone, never mind someone who he'd started to have feelings for, would hurt. But it being Wolf, made it tenfold. He was holding back his tears as best as he could, not wanting to cry in front of the other.

"Please Wolf, I'm sorry! I never wanted you to die out there, I promise!" He'd resorted to pleading with the lupine, anything to try convince him otherwise. "Please, just believe me."

"I don't think I can ever trust you any more, pup. You've lost your chance. Now go." The lupine pointed past the other to emphasise his point.

"Please Wolf, I-"

" _GO!_ " He shouted once again. Fox had screwed up. Truly, screwed up...

He looked up towards Wolf with glossy eyes, and there he realised. Nothing went the way he wanted. The cold gaze he was receiving from him. Those once shining amethyst eyes seemed to freeze Fox in place. The anger in his furrowed brows. He didn't know what to do. What could he have done to sort this out?

Noting that Fox was making no move to leave, Wolf made his. He closed the door in his face, stopping their conversation right there. It was over...

He couldn't hold back his tears any more. He'd imagined Wolf might've been angry, but he was sure that he wouldn't react like this. It wasn't just because he was angry at Fox, but because he was _rightly_ so. If it was the anger he was subjected to back in the Lylat wars, he could deal with it. Except it wasn't. This was _his_ fault. If only he'd have gone.

He fell to his knees, sobbing, trying to hide his face from any other peering eyes. Not that it worked in the slightest. He remained in that position for an unknown amount of time, until it finally slowed until a halt. He couldn't just sit there doing nothing all day. ' _I want to go home._ ' He slowly stood up and started on his journey back home. ' _I just want to curl up in my bed with my pillow.'_ As he was leaving, he never noticed the door open once again.

 _'I want Wolf...'_

* * *

A vibrating woke Fox from his sleep. He couldn't tell what time it was, nor did he care. All he knew was that it was dark. A quick look revealed that he was being called. Krystal... What did she want? Answering the phone, the blue light hurt his eyes. "Fox?"

"Hm?" He really didn't feel like talking at the moment.

"I heard you went to talk to Wolf. How'd it go?" Fox flinched. He wasn't expecting this.

"How'd you hear?" She could see the hurt in his eyes at the mention of Wolf.

"Panther talked to Wolf. Talked about you... Didn't tell me what he said, though." She trailed off. "Mind telling me?" She asked. Fox didn't want to talk about this. He _really_ didn't want to. Just remembering the events from earlier in the day; tears threatened to fall from his eyes once more. And he was certain Krystal could see it.

"It... No. It didn't go well. I gotta go — I'll talk to you later." He quickly ended the call as soon as he could, flopping down back onto the bed and placing his communicator upon his bedside table. And then, the waterworks started once again. His phone shook against the table, the noise resonating in his silent room. He was sure it was Krystal again, but he made no move to answer.

He clutched his pillow closer towards him, and eventually the phone stopped. It took a while for the darkness of sleep to consume him once again.

* * *

Rousing from his sleep, Fox remained motionless. He felt ashamed, for many reasons. This crying, this wasn't Fox McCloud. He isn't the type to wallow in grief. When something needs doing, he'll do it damn it, and he _won't_ let his feelings stop him.

He'd get over Wolf. He had to. That was his plan to begin with, anyway. This was just the start of the process. With his newfound resolve, he got up to check the time. **13:24**. He'd slept in, he almost _never_ woke up this late. At least after his month of emotional turmoil with Wolf, he was on the path to stop it.

Or at least he thought he was.

He'd settled for tidying his home for the time being; placing his used clothes in a wash basket, moving dirty dishes and cups into the dishwasher, swept and mopped the floor. He never could be bothered cleaning his house before, seemed like a waste of time. ' _Time I instead did nothing in...'_ He thought bitterly.

A knocking on the door alerted him of someone else's presence. He checked his watch, **14:46**. Almost an hour and half of tidying, and he was pretty proud of the outcome. It looked presentable now. Making his way to the door, he didn't bother to check who would be at the other side. That was probably the biggest mistake he could've made.

"Hello? Who is i-" Wolf... _Wolf?!_ His ears shot up as he quickly shut the door in a panic. This wasn't going to help him. He placed his back against the door and panted heavily. Not two seconds later, the knocking could be heard again. ' _You can't just ignore him!_ '

Once again opening the door, more prepared this time, he was greeted with the same sight, albeit this time a more annoyed look was on his face. "How rude."

"Wolf?"

"Hm?"

"W-Why are you here?"

"I guess I should say I'm sorry now, huh?" ' _Wait,_ you're _sorry?'_

"Why?"

"As much as I'd _love_ to tell you everything, I'm not quite sure I'd want to tell the entire street." This statement baffled Fox for a bit, until he realised what he meant. The streets behind the lupine were littered with people.

"Oh, yeah. C-come on in." He'd never invited anyone else into his house before, not even his team. And now with Wolf being the first made things all the more awkward. Fox moved out of the doorway so he could enter, and then closed it behind him. He then proceeded to sit on his sofa, motioning towards the other side. "Feel free to take a seat."

A moment later the lupine plopped onto the seat beside Fox. "Guess I should start huh?" Fox nodded, motioning for him to continue. "I guess yesterday I overreacted. I blew up at you and didn't really give you an opportunity to prove yourself to me. I've had time to think on it and I realised I acted out of hand."

Fox shook his head in response. "It's fine, I can't blame you for not believing me... I knew that no matter how much I had planned to say, I couldn't convince you."

"But that's my fault. I didn't let you. It only really hit me that you were telling me the truth when I shut the door on you." Fox looked surprised, and wished he hadn't seen him break down. "You were there for a while, ya' know?" ' _Shit!'_

"Y-you saw that?!" He couldn't have been more embarrassed.

"Yeah. At first I thought it might've been a ploy to get me to react, but almost 10 minutes of it? I knew I fucked up. I never intended on upsetting you." Ok, maybe he could be. Fox's face flushed red, and he moved his hands to try hide himself. "I was gonna call you back, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. So, sorry about that."

Fox didn't know what to say. He was, once again, at a loss for words. He just reclined deeper into the chair, resulting in a deep chuckle from Wolf. With a lopsided grin, he placed his hand on his head and scritched it gently. "Come on Foxy, show me that cute little face of yours." He joked, as his face turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Woooolf, stop it" Fox couldn't take the embarrassment any longer. Wolf let out a full blown laugh, much to the formers dismay.

"Sorry pup, you're just too easy to tease." His laughing died down, but a smile remained on his face.

"So, how'd you find my address?"

"Krystal. She called me because she wanted to know what upset you so much. She also pretty much told me everything you told me was the truth, and if I can't trust a telepath, never mind my teammates girl, then that's stupid of me." This made him glad Krystal had called him last night. "So, you wanted to talk? Shoot."

"Oh uh, first of all, I wanted to thank you. For your help, for saving me, and everyone. Without you I was dead." All that served to do was big up the lupines ego, as he gave a big smirk. "I don't know why you did it, but thanks."

"My team never let me live that down..."

"Huh?"

" _Constantly_ saying I have a thing for you or something. I should've probably worded myself better, huh?" Once again the heat rushed to his face, but this time he noticed a familiar tinge to Wolf's face too. ' _Hm?_ '

"Oh? Who's embarrassed now?"

"Shut it pup. Your house is just too warm, is all. What's your thermostat set to?" He fumbled for excuses, looking away from the other.

' _It's not on.'_ Is what he wanted to say, but he chose against it to save the information for later. "Too high, apparently." Now he was the one smirking at the other. "So, why _did_ you save me?"

"To be honest, you showed me something. The strong don't have to be oppressive. You were like me, if I'd have stayed with Corneria. You showed me how wrong my decisions have been. I couldn't let someone who'd done everything right where I went wrong die...And, I thought maybe if I helped you, you could help me to try fix those mistakes." That was the nicest thing Wolf had ever said to him, and his heart started beating faster, resonating in response.

"Another thing, are we cool?"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't want to be 'rivals' any more. I'd much prefer not fighting, even helping each other at times. And I know some others who would too."

"Krystal and Panther, you mean?" Hit the nail on the head. At least, the second part.

"Yeah, so... We cool?"

Wolf let out a hearty chuckle, and wrapped his arm around the back of Fox. "You asking if I wanna be your friend?" Fox looked away for a second, thinking. "Sure, friends it is. I'll trust you pup."

"You think..." He trailed off. If he was reading the signals correctly, things could work out far better than he ever imagined. Wolf looked at him, a sidelong tilt of his head, one ear perked while the other lay gently upon his skull. An inquisitive look. If anything else, this was his best shot. He moved in closer to the lupine, turning his head the opposite direction, and gently connected his lips to the others.

Even if this was all he got, he'd be happy. He stayed there for a moment, drinking in the feeling, the ecstasy kissing Wolf. He was taken by surprise, as his ears shot up. It felt electric to the vulpine. And here he was thinking he was going to get over the lupine. Eventually, the lupine returned the kiss, which was an unexpected turn. The kiss deepened between the two, as they both stayed together.

The world could have ended right then, and Fox would've never noticed. If this was his reward for saving the system twice, he'd gladly do it ten more times just to have it again. Time seemed to stop still for the two, until they eventually pulled apart after an unknown time had passed, panting.

"You think," He looked into the others eyes, that irresistible purple. "we could... Skip being friends?"

"D-don't push your luck pup!" Wolf replied, flustered. Fox laughed in response. He'd never think he'd see the day where he saw the notorious _Lord_ O'Donnell flustered over him. "Friends."

Fox looked downcast for a moment, yet he realised that was probably the best outcome. "And then maybe," The lupine continued. "maybe we could, ya know... Date..." He trailed off. Fox eyes widened drastically. No, _this_ was the best outcome. He leaped onto the other, wrapping his arms around his waist hugging him, nestling his head against his chest. "Hey!" Although he voiced his concerns, he made no move to remove the vulpine from him.

"Fine, I'll give you five minutes." He let out a sigh, and was treated in kind by a kiss to the cheek from Fox. "Okay ten... But that's it!"

Neither of them knew what would result from this relationship, but they were both content for the time being. All Fox knew was that this was the happiest moment in his life.

So far...

* * *

 **End note:**

And 6k words later, we reach the end! Thank you for reading. This took me around a day to write, and I had a tonne of fun writing this. This also served as a way to help me in writing/expressing emotions of characters (I hope).


End file.
